Ems Continue to Dominate Hops in Game Two Victory
NWL Eugene Emeralds

Ems Continue to Dominate Hops in Game Two Victory

Published on May 21, 2026 under Northwest League (NWL)
Source: Eugene Emeralds News Release


EUGENE, OR - Eugene was able to defeat the Hillsboro Hops by a final score of 8-3. Eugene is now 2-0 to start the week and have won five consecutive games for the fourth time already this season. They are 32-9 with 25 games remaining in the first half and are 10-1 against the Hops this season.

For the second straight night the Hillsboro Hops were able to push home the first run of the game. It came in the second inning tonight after they sent seven batters to the plate. Slade Caldwell drew a walk before Avery Owusu-Asiedu followed it up with a walk of his own. After the Ems starter, Luis De La Torre, struck out Yerald Nin for the second out of the inning, it was Adrian Rodriguez who roped a double down the third base line to give the Hops the early 2-0 lead.

As the Ems have done many times this year, they answered back with a run in the home half of the inning. Jancel Villarroel hit a one out single and Carlos Gutierrez followed it up with a single to put two runners on. That brought up Jean Carlos Sio who hit a groundball over to the first base side. Brady Counsell threw the ball to second base for the first out and Rodriguez threw it back over to first with the Hops pitcher Brian Curley covering. Curley couldn't secure the ball as it bounced out of his glove which allowed Villarroel enough time to score to make it 2-1 after two innings.

The Ems tied up the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Lisbel Diaz led off the frame with a walk and Dakota Jordan torched a baseball to the gap in right field for his 10th double of the season which allowed Diaz to score on the play. The ball was hit 109.4 mph off his bat.

Heading into the bottom of the sixth inning the Hops turned it over to John West out of the bullpen after Curley exited after five pretty strong innings on the mound. In last night's win for the Ems, they were able to tee off against Sandro Santana who allowed the first three base runners to reach to start his outing before giving up two runs and the lead. It was no different in tonight's game against West as Zander Darby got hit by a pitch to start the inning. Villarroell hit a ground ball to third base but it was a throwing error from Yassel Soler which put the first two runners on.

Carlos Gutierrez tied up the game at three with a 101.2 mph single off the bat which brought home the first run of the inning. The go-ahead run scored on the second wild pitch of the frame from West to give the Ems the lead in a blink of an eye. After Jean Carlos Sio drew a walk, the bottom two in the Ems order got out on a popout and a strikeout. That flipped the lineup to the top for Trevor Cohen who smoked a baseball 104.4 mph up the middle to plate a pair. A wild pitch moved him over to second base with two outs.

Dakota Jordan stepped into the box and was looking to put the game completely out of reach and that's exactly what he did but in a bit of an unconventional way. He hit a groundball to the left side of the infield and was able to beat out the throw for an infield hit. Cohen was at second base and was running on contact. He was able to burn around third and before the first baseman realized what was happening Cohen was already breaking for the plate as he slid in safely to score from second base on an infield hit to cap off a five run inning for Eugene. They added one more run of insurance in the bottom of the eighth. Cohen hit a leadoff double and Gavin Kilen brought him home on a fielder's choice to make it 8-3 in favor of the Ems which proved to be the final score in tonight's game.

Luis De La Torre got the start tonight and pitched four innings while allowing three hits and two runs. He walked four batters but also struck out five in his time on the mound. Austin Strickland pitched a scoreless fifth after loading up the bases with two outs on three consecutive walks before striking out Avery Owusu-Asiedu. Cade Vernon spun the ball for three innings and allowed just three hits and one run while striking out a batter and not issuing a single walk en-route to his Northwest League leading sixth win of the season. Liam Simon took over in the ninth and slammed the door shut with a scoreless frame where he struck out three. Simon has now gone scoreless in his last eight outings spanning 10 innings on the mound. In that stretch he has given up a total of just three hits while striking out a whopping 18 batters. It's been an impressive stretch as he last gave up an earned run on April 12th.

Eugene will now have a chance to clinch the series split tomorrow and give themselves an opportunity to win their 8th consecutive series this weekend. Yunior Marte will toe the rubber for the Ems, as he boasts a 5-0 record with a 2.73 ERA. First pitch is currently set for 6:35 PM.

The Eugene Emeralds are the High-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. The Eugene Emeralds are dedicated to providing the best in family entertainment and creating a fun, safe environment for everyone to enjoy watching a baseball game. For more information, please visit our website at www.EmeraldsBaseball.com or call the Emeralds front office at 541-342-5367.

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Northwest League Stories from May 21, 2026


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